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TTINGo 



SIST CoNCRESs, 1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. | Mis. Doc. 

/.-t Session. I I ^'"- 264. 



MEiMORlAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



NEWTON W; NUTTING, 

(A REPRESE^fTATIVE P'ROM NEW VoRK), 



OELIVERKD IN Till-. 



House of Representatives and in the Senate, 



FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS. FIRST SESSION. 



I'UBLISIIEI) MV ORDER OK lONGRESS. 



WASH INGTON: 

C. V K K N M F. N T I' K I N I I N G O K F I C K . 
1890. 



HqUs 






Resolved by the Seiiate ami Hniise of Rcprrsenfnfivex of the United 
States of America in Congress aKsemhled. That tliere be printed of the 
eulogies delivered in Congress upon the late Newton W. Nutting, a Rep- 
resentative in the Fifty-first Congress from the State of New York, ten 
thousand copies, of which two thousand five hundred copies shall be for 
the use of the Senate and seven thousand five liundred for the use of the 
House of Representatives: and the Secretary of the Treasury Ije, and he is 
hereby, directed to have jninted a portrait of the said Newton W. Nut- 
ting, to accompany said eulogies, and for the purpose of engra\-ing and 
printing said portrait the sum of five Imndred dollars, or so much thereof 
as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the 
Treasury not otherwise ap|iroi)riated. That of the quota to the House of 
Representatives the Public Printer shall set ajiart fifty copies, which he 
shall have bound in full morocco, with gilt edges, the same to be deliv- 
ered when completed to the widow of the deceased. 
Approved, September 19, 1890. 



II 



PROCHHDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



December 18. 1889. 

Mr. Payne. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my painful duty to 
announce the death of the Hon. Newtux W. Nutting, a 
Eepreseutative-elect to the Fifty-first Congress and my im- 
mediate predecessor. Jiidge Nutting was a member of the 
Forty-eightli Congress and also of the Fiftieth Congress. 
At a later day I shall ask the House to take appropriate 
action in recognition of his faithful public services and of 
the purity of his private character. 

I offer the following resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved. That the Hi3us(> has heard with deep regret and [jrofound 
son-ow of the deatli of the Hon. Newton W. Nutting, late a Represent- 
ative from the State of New York. 

Ri'soived. Tliat tlie Clerli be directed to communicate a copy of these 
resolutions to tlie Senate. 

Jiesolixd. That as a fuither mark of respect the House do now adjourn. 

March 2•^. 1890. 
Mr. Payne, by unanimous consent, submitted the fol- 
lowing I'l'soliitidn: wliicli was considered, and ado])tcd: 

Resiilred. Tliat Saturday, April 5. bejjinningat '.i o'clock p. m.. be set 
apart for paying tribute to tlie memory of Hon. Newton W. Nutting, 
late a member of the House of Representatives from the twenty -seventh 
district of the State of New York. 

3 



4 Address of Mr. Payne of New York, on the 

April 5, 1890. 

The Speaker. Three o'clock having arrived, the House 
will proceed to the consideration of the special order. 

Mr. Payne. I submit the following resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, Tliat tlie business of the House be now suspended, that oppor- 
tunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. Newton W. 
Nutting, late a Representative from the State of New York. 

Renohvd. As a further mark of respect to tlie memory of the deceased 
and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a distinguished public serv- 
ant, that the House at the conclusion of tliese memorial proceedings 
shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved. That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Payne, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker: There is nothing in nature that surpasses the 
beautiful scenery of the lake region of central New York. 
Nestling among the hills, these inland lakes lend variety to 
the landscape and give beauty and charm. The soil is rich, ■ 
the farms are well cultivated, and the people prosperous, in- 
telligent, and contented. They illustrate the best element of 
our American life. The universal comfort is the result of 
patient and honest toil. The youth learn early tlie lesson 
that success comes only through perseverance and hard and 
persistent work. At the same time ^.he open book of nature 
reveals new beauties which bring out and develop the high- 
est and best instincts of humanity. Love of country, love 
of liberty, and love of virtue are but the natural outgrowth 
of such surroundings. 

It was in this beautiful region, near the shore of Oneida 
Lake, while much of the country was yet a forest, that 
Newton W. Nutting was born, on the 22d day of October, 



Life and Character of Netvton W. Nttt/inq-. 5 

1S40. His father was Rev. William Niittiug, of the town 
of West Monroe, iu the county of Oswego. With the lim- 
ited income of a small farmer he was unable to give his son 
the advantages of a liberal education. But young Nuttixg 
did not lack for sound instruction at his own home. Dur- 
ing the weary days of his last sickness he found relief in 
wi'itiug a little history of ''One Day Out of Seventeen 
Thousand,'' in which he describes his first day's hunt with 
his father, and these are some of the lessons he received. 

Stopping near a spring of sparkling water, the father was 
interrupted in his reverie by the sou with a question for 
"his thoughts.'' 

"It is thirty years," he i-eplied, "since the first time I 
saw that spring. I was twenty-one years of age, and these 
waters bubbled uj) and ran away just as they do now. All 
these years has this spring been noiselessly sending forth to 
the world that life-giving water. It never gets weai-y, nor 
does it stop for a moment in its good work. The Divine 
Being, to Whom we are all accountable and Who guides us 
all our lives if we will let Him, furnishes the fountain some- 
where in the hills. This spring, my boy. shoTild teach us a 
lesson in life. It should teach us that the things that come 
from God's hands are pi;re and clean. It should teach us 
not to .stop in our efforts to do our fellow-men good. It 
shoiild teach us to do acts of love without show or noise. It 
does tell us that God has provided and will provide for all 
the beings dependent upon Him." 

Later in the day, remarking the zest of the boy in the 
hunt, the father said: "You seem to enjoy this, my boy; it 
is natural you should. This is your first real hunt; you are 
just commencing, and my himts are coming fast to an end. 
You see your sun of life always in the east, and (he jnurney 
of life to you seems to be a long one. I see my sun of life 



6 Address of Mr. Pay7ie, o/Nezc Y'ork, on tlic 

always in tlie west, and the journey of life seems short. 
Life is a curious state. You can not comprehend it and you 
will never be able to explain it to yourself even. You are 
now about ten years of age. Before you realize it you will 
be fifty, and when you are fiftv I will sleep my last sleep. 
My labors and cares in life are drawing to a close; yours 
are just commencing. You will find this life, that now looks 
so pleasant and rosy to you, unsatisfactory. You will long 
for something beyond; and there is something worth longing 
for after this life is past. I can not express to yon how 
anxious I am that you should choose the right way and the 
'better part.'" 

The teachings of the father bore fruit in the life of the 
son, as we shall witness later on. 

But though the little farm stood almost alone in the clear- 
ing and the forest, with the growth of centuries, seemed to 
shut out young Nutting from the great and busy world 
beyond, his was an indomitable spirit that coTild not be con- 
fined. He possessed what is better than unlimited means 
for the average American youth. He had pluck, push, and 
energy. He had an inquisitive mind and a genuine thirst 
for knowledge. By dint of teaching the district school 
he managed to acquire a thorough academic education, 
although he was unable to supplement this by a collegiate 
course, and the lack of this was a fact he often deplored in 
his later life. 

Supporting himself still by his own efforts, he pursued the 
study of the law and was admitted to the bar soon after he 
attained his majority. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion in the little village of Parish, among the neighbors 
and friends of his boyhood. Is there a position more try- 
ing than that of the country lawyer? He is the observed 
of all observers. If he gets a retainer the neighborhood 



Life and Character of Neivton W. Xultiuo. 7 

knows it. The merits and demerits of his cause are tried at 
the bar of public opinion, and often the verdict is rendered 
before he gets a chance to present tliera before the legal tri- 
bunal. If he swerves a hair's breadth from the line of strict 
integrity the people find it out and set upon him the seal of 
condemnation, while on the other hand an intelligent com- 
munity is ever ready to judge him upon his merits. If he 
deserves success they will not fail to accord him the full 
measure to which he is entitled. They become jealous of his 
honor and constitute themselves the guardians of his rei)uta- 
tion. It is no mean achievement to obtain the confidence of 
such a constituency. Such was young Nutting's success in 
obtaining the esteem of his neighbors that in his twenty-third 
year he was elected to the important office of commissioner 
of schools, in which position he served most successfully for 
a term of three years. 

During this time his profession called him frequently to 
the county seat, where he presented his cases to the highe.st 
courts of his county. He had the qualities of a successful 
lawyer. He was studious, thorough in his profession, trusted 
his clients and believed in the justice of their cause, and he 
was self-reliant. His talents attracted the attention of his 
associates and his peers, and he removed to the city of 
Oswego in 186(3, where he entered into partnership with 
Hon. John C. Churchill, formerly a member of this House 
and now a justice of the supreme court of New York. 

It was in this city that he passed the remainder of liis 
days. It was a commercial town of no mean pretensions, 
being among the first twelve in the whole country in the 
volume of its trade and commerce. With the enlarged field 
came opportunities for achievement and success, and he did 
not fail to improve them. The people again and again 
recognized his ability and worth, and again and again called 



8 Address of Mr. Payne, of New York, on the 

him to still higher iilaces of responsibility, power, and trust. 
In ISGS they made liim district attorney of his coimty. In 
1877 they elected him to the important office of county judge, 
and in 1883 he resigned this position to take his seat in the 
Forty-eighth Congress. Through a rearrangement of his 
district, he was not returned to the Forty-ninth Congress, 
but was a member of the Fiftieth Congress and was re- 
elected to the Fifty -iirst. He died at his home at Oswego 
on the loth day of October last, in the forty-ninth year of 
his age. 

Judge Nutting was truly a self-made man, and his lack 
of early training was fully made up by his patient industry 
and perseverance. The neighbors of his early days delighted 
to tell of the way the poor boy clambered up into the judge's 
bench and won a seat in the national Congress. The general 
qualities that marked his manhood were characteristic of 
his early youth and made him many friends who were de- 
voted to him through life. 

It was my privilege to form his acquaintance early, and 
for twenty years our f riendshiiJ was unln-oken. Twice our 
political ambitions crossed each other, but the contests left 
no bitterness and ever after our friendship was on a firmer 
basis. The best judges of a man's true character are those 
who have known him during a life-time. It is no small 
tribute to the character of Judge Nutting that for more 
than two-thirds of his life, after his admission to the bar, he 
held places of responsibility and trust in his native county 
to which he was called by those who knew him best. 

As a lawyer he gave his clients the best that was in him, 
making their cases his own. He was painstaking and in- 
diistrious. He knew how to be courteous to the opposite 
side and yet faithful to his friends. He was never unpre- 
pared; never lost a case through lack of hard work. He 



Life and Character of Neivtoii II '. A'littino. 9 

was houest and truthful, and ever had faith in his causes 
and could see the end from the beginnins;. As prosecuting 
attorney he was firm in the discharge of liis duty and ever 
humane and kindly towards the weak and erring. 

As a judge he was still more successful and addediother 
laiirels to liis reputation. He was dignihed in his bearing 
and always upright and above suspicion. He had a judicial 
mind. He had no difficulty in applying the principles of 
law and held the scales of justice with an even hand. He 
was kindly and considerate. The younger members of the 
bar remember him with gratitude and since his death have 
paid many a feeling tribute to his memory. Of his career 
here. Mr. Speaker, others can speak better than myself. It 
was, however, my privilege to be associated with him in the 
Forty-eighth Congress, when we were both serving our first 
term. Though retiring in his disposition, liis genial man- 
ner brought him many warm friends. He was keenly alive 
to every question that came up. and his voice was often heard 
in debate. 

He never talked unless he had something to say and he 
gained tliat difficult tiling for a new member, a position of 
recognized power and influence during his first term. Re- 
turning to the Fiftieth Congress, he won a high place by the 
same pluck and perseverance that had gained for him all the 
success of his life. 

He took great interest in the commercial welfare of his dis- 
trict. Living on the border of one of the Great Lakes, he 
became sensible of the needs of our commerce. It was the 
ambition of his life to unite the lakes and the seaboard by an 
American water way that should checkmate the eiforts of 
f)ur neighbors on the north to divert our American ti-affic. 
Although attacked three years before his death with the 
malady that finally proved fatal, he labored in Congress and 



1 



10 Address of Mr. Payne, of New York, on the 

out for the promotion of this favorite idea. He endeavored 
to interest, not only the House, but the whole country in this 
great enterprise. 

He was a firm friend of the soldiers. He was vigilant 
where.their interests were involved, and no worthy veteran 
ever applied to him in vain. 

Judge Nutting remained here during the second session 
of the Fiftieth Congress and after its close returned to his 
home, realizing that his disease was fatal. The months that 
followed proved his courage and heroism. No one knows 
better than liis associates the labor, trouble, and annoyance 
of a member of Congress during the first few mor.ths after 
his party has come into power. And yet through these last 
weary months of his life his sterling qualities were brought 
into relief. Stricken with a fatal and painful disease, which 
caused him intense suffering, worn out with pain and un- 
able at times to write or oven dictate a letter, with pluck and 
perseverance he endeavored to perform all the duties of his 
office and discharge with fidelity the trust his people had 
confided to his hands. 

Could the secrets of that sick-chamber be known they 
would reveal an example of heroism seldom seen. Alas, 
that the glories of our mortal state are but as shadows ! A 
man in the full vigor and power of his manhood is stricken 
by the hand of death. Rich in experience, his nnnd 
balanced, his brain well stored, it would seem as though our 
friend had hardly entered upon his career. The best that 
Avas in him was still in reserve. Conld he have reached his 
three-score years and ten how beneficent might have been 
the remaining years of his life. 

Judge Nutting carried the same traits into all his rela- 
tions in life. He was ever kind and courteous in his ways. 
He was patient and industrious ; eloquent as an advocate be- 



Life and Character of Newton 11'. Nutting. 11 

fore a jury or in a debate upon this floor, as well as iipou 
the rostrum : as a judge, able, just, dignified ; as a friend, 
geutJrous. manly, true ; as a Representative he never neg- 
lected either the constituency of his district or T;he still 
larger constituency of his country. In his family life he 
was kind and devoted as hiisband and father. His was a 
beautiful and true home life.. He leaves a wife and four 
children to luourn his loss. His private life was above re- 
proach. A total abstainer himself, he was an earnest advo- 
cate of the cause of temperance. He welcomed every re- 
form in this direction and his voice was often heard, in 
public as well as in pi'ivate, portraying the evils of the 
wine-cup. 

He believed in the elevation of women, and was ever 
ready to lend a helping hand in opening the avenue to 
achievement and success for the gentler sex. He had 
always the courage of his convictions. I have heard him 
advocate the cause of female suffrage in public sjjeech at a 
time when such a course was likely to jeopardize his own 
political success. 

Early in life he became a member of the Presbyterian 
Church. Every Sabbath found him in his pew, and his 
life was that of a faithful Christian man. The following 
letter, written by him to a friend shortly before his death, 
was published by his pastor and l)eautifully illustrates liis 
simple Christian faith : 

My De.vk Friend: I tliank you for your kind expressions as to my 
health. I am in a sad plight, for I fear I can not reeover. I am. how- 
ever, in the hands of the One above us all. and will bow with the best 
grace I am al)le to His divine will. 

I am hardly able to write, but will do all I ran to the end. God bless 
you and yours, and may you see the sunshine of health for many years. 
May prosperity and happines.^ come to you and yoiu's. The long, weary 
hours of day and night in pain and agony give nie time to tliink of child- 
hood, boyhood, and middle age. It is a strange world; so strange, indeed, 



\ 



12 Address of Mr. Payne, of Neiv York, on the 

that Tou and I can not comprehend all there is of it— the why and the 
wherefore. We are, or I believe I am, just on the edge of the land of 
light, love, flowers, and music. The door will be open by and by. and a 
flood of light and knowledge will come and I will be led into the future. 
The rags,' filth, disease, sorrow, sickness, and withal disappointments 
\vi:i stay here, and my spu-it, with a clean, new. indestructible body, will 
go forward. This Ls the simple story as my mother gave it at her knee. 

Yours truly, 

N. \V. Nutting. 

How pathetic the reference to his mother in the closing 
sentence. Soon after this letter was written, descrihing her 
as she appeared to him in his boyhood, he says: " She was a 
beautiful woman, and good, loving, and patient as she was 
beautiful. God bless, keep, and guard her down to the end, 
for she yet lives at nearly eighty years." 

As the sun was declining on a glorious October day, he 
asked his wife to throw open the shutters that he might see 
the setting sun for the last time. And as its last rays kissed 
the earth and flooded his room with a halo of brightness 
his spirit took its flight to the " Land of Light." 

Mr. Speaker, from out of this manly, earnest, Christian 
life, and from this chamber of death, there comes to us a liv- 
ing voice : 

So live that when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan which moves 
To that mysterious realm where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death. 
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night. 
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one that wraps the chapery of his couch 
About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. 



% 



Life and Character of Neivton \V. Nutting. 13 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Baker, of New York. 

Mr. Speakek : 

In tlie noontide of life lie has left ; 

The crown and the goal have been won. 
And the hand.s that have wrought for the JIasti-r 

With toiling and labors are done. 
Farewell to the friend brave and tender ; 

Fai-ewell to the love tried and true ; 
Death may sever, but can not efface it ; 

In heaven "t will blossom anew. 

Newton W. Nutting represented in the last and in the 
present Congress a district between which and my own in- 
timate business and commercial relations have long existed. 
He was well known and highly esteemed in business, pub- 
lic, and political circles in my city. 

As a member of the legal profession he was not only 
known, but held high rank and enjoyed the fullest confi- 
dence of both bench and bar. He gave to client, constitu- 
ent, and country the full benefit of a fruitful experience, 
his best and most earnest efforts. We were friends before 
Judge Nutting came to the Fiftieth Congress. I thought 
I knew him well for some years before his first advent into 
public life. Such is the fact; yet I never learned fully to 
appreciate his real worth until the closer relations which fol- 
lowed his coming to the Fiftieth Congress. 

Then the lawyer of rich attainiueuts, the active, energetic 
business man of unspotted integrity, became revealed to me 
as the able legislator, the pure statesman ])ossessing kingly 
graces 'and kingly culture: a man wliosc andiition Avas to 
])riimote justice, establish right, and to secure to his whole 
country the blessings of greatness and freedom in the 
highest and best sense. He was a man whose life and char- 
acter may be held up as an example well worthy the emula- 



14 Address of Mr. Baker, of Neiv York, on the 

tion of our youth. Hence it is not au empty tribute we pay 

to the memory of our departed friend to-day. 

The wreath we here lay upon his grave is the offering of 

sincere sorrow for the loss of one every way worthy our 

highest honors. The tributes we now spread upon the pages 

of our country's history testify to real worth. May we who 

remain to carry on life's conflict remember, moreover, 

that — 

Our lives are like the sliadows 

On sunny hills that lie, 
Or grasses in the meadows 

That blossom but to die; 
A sleep, a dream, a storj- 

By strangers quickly told, 
An unremaining glory 

Of tilings that soon are old. 

Let these experiences, all too frequent, remind us while 
engaged as we are in the discharge of high public trusts 
that we may at the same time be rapidly nearing the same 
dark stream over which our friend has passed, and so con- 
strain us to practice those graces of charity that when called 
we may be entitled to that inheritance which fadeth not 
away. 

My friend at one time enjoyed the ministrations of the 
same pastor who presides over the same church and congre- 
gation to which, with my family. I belong. I may, there- 
fore, be permitted to read as part of my remarks a letter 
recently received from his former pastor, which portrays 
better than any other pen can the inner life and character 
of Judge Nutting, a letter which is well worthy a place in 
these proceedings that shall endure for time. 

I will read the same in full: 

Rochester, N. Y., April 1, 1890. 
My Dear Mr. Baker : You ask me to conti-ibute something in the 
way of personal impression and reminiscence to the memory of our 
cherished friend. Judge Nutting. I am glad to do this, because the dead 



Life and Cliaracler of Ncivton IT. Xn/luig. 15 

are too soon forgt)tten. Out of siglit means out of mind, in this busy, 
practical age. I am the more glad to do as you request, because the judge 
had such a clean record. One does not need to pick and choose his words, 
to cut and trim liis expressions, to dodge in and out between the virtues 
and delinquencies of the man. Of course lie had his faults, for he was 
human. What 1 mean is, that one can talk right on and use positive 
and emphatii- terms of a favmalile character and not exaggerate the fact 
about our friend. 

Of his political life you know more than I, and you have not asked me 
to s|)t'ak of that. I know that you, from your long, intimate, discrim- 
inating, and appreciative acquaintance with the man and association 
with him in Congressional life, will do that part of the tribute full justice. 
I shall try to speak of him as I knew him personally and pastorally. The 
first time I saw him was when he sat an auditor in a Sunday congrega- 
tion some sixteen years ago. I was struck with his manly appearance, 
his handsome face, his attentive eye. He was a stranger to me that day. 
I incjuired who he was. sought him out. and cultivated his acquaiut.ance 
which ripened into a friendship that lastetl until the close of liis life. He 
was then a bachelor, engaged in the practice of law and identified with 
the various interests of the city where he resided. He was a regular at- 
tendant on public worship, so much so that I was led to draw him out 
about his I'eligious opinions. 

I found him thoughtful, open to conviction, ready to hear, deferent, 
and to the last degree courteous. I rate him as having been a sincere 
man and conscientiously dispo.sed to live up to the level of his convic- 
tions. I well rememljer that wlien at the close of a social call, as he left 
the parlor, he drew me into the hall away from other guests, and with 
tears in his eyes and a tremor in his voice he told me he had decided the 
matter of personal religion and had determined to take the necessary 
steps to identify himself as soon as possible with the Christian church. 
From that moment until the matter was consummated he gave himself 
to it. I believe his father was a Baptist clergyman, or, if not that, was 
officially related to that denomination. At any rate, his son had been 
under the polity and doctrine of that church. Hence baptism by immer- 
sion seemed to him reciuisite. 

I conceded that he was welcome to his preference, and that to consult 
such preference would be entirely consistent with his propo.sed meml)er- 
ship in the Presbyterian ("hurch. He then asked whether, if he sub- 
mitted to the rite as ordinarily practiced in the Presbyterian Church and 
should find that unsatisfactory, he could afterwards be immersed. Of 
this he was assured. Accordingly, when he was welcomed into the 
church, he, along with others, was bairtized in the same way as the rest. 
Shoitly after I called on him to see whether what had been done was 
sufficient. He assured and reassured nie that it was. I cite this to .show, 
among other things, his lil)erality of sentiment, his sympathy with the 
spirit that maketh alive, rather than the law that killeth. 



16 Address of Mr. Baker, of New York, on the 

Judge Nutting was a man who lived out daily what was in him, and 
one might be sure that whatever he said or did was a reflection of his 
true inwardness. He was not a half-way sort of a man. Not only did 
he join Christ, but he joined the church as well: and church membership 
was to him no sinecure. Not only the Sabbatli worshij), liut tlie week-day 
service, found him in attendance : and not only was he present, but dis- 
posed to testify, and that he did always in a modest, feeling, jjositive way. 
And it wa-s always an exertion lor him to take part in any such seivice ; 
always I say — at any rate, when he first entered upon his Christian life. 

I have seen the beads of peispiration on liis forehead: I could hear his 
voice tremble, and he has told me that it seemed sometimes as though his 
knees would give way. Yet he felt that it was the thing to do and he was 
bound to do it. He was an interested teacher in the Sunday-school, He 
was a close, appreciative hearer of the simple gospel, and frequently ex- 
pressi re of his interest. He was a man wliose religion was a practical re- 
liance, an every-day and all-day affair. It was at his request tliat I went 
to his home, on the eve of his first Congressional term, and led the family 
in worship, commending him to God, that throughout his public career 
he might te kept pure and unspotted from the world, I. can feel now 
the warm grasp of the hand he gave me, his earnest look, and his even 
more earnest amen! 

The last time I saw him, several months before his death, was in the 
course of a visit to Oswegp, I found him, as we all are. with a reasonable 
ambition to live and determined to employ every means to that end. His 
whole environment, public and [irivate. official and personal, civil and re- 
ligious, was such :is to make life a very pleasant thing. At the same time 
I found him submissive as a well trained child and perfectly simple in his 
faith. He was always tliat. There was no religious vagary about the 
man. He was weighted with none of the nonsense, or superfluities, or 
conventionalism of the schools. He was simple-hearted, unaffected, high 
minded. This disposition, as is apt to be the case, came out into bolder 
relief as he approached the end. His nerve was the firmer, his endurance 
of exquisite pain the more impressive, his patience the more uniform, his 
courage the more steadfast, his submission the readier, his hope the 
brighter, because of the personal anil jnacticql hold he had upon the 
Christian faith. 

The Bilile tells us that unless we be converted and become as little chil- 
dren we can not enter the kingdom of heaven. Judge Nutting was cer- 
tainl.y converted, and throughout his experience he singularly retained 
the childlike spirit. How loyal he was to liis friends, how faithful in that 
whicli is least, more than one soldier's widow can testify for whom he 
tried and tried again until what was due from the Government was 
decreed. He had a host of personal admirers and friends. His Con- 
gressional district was proud of their Representative. His political sui>- 
porters, and, indeed, the supporters of all political parties, felt that their 
interests would be conserved in his hands. How fully that faith was 



Life and Character of NeivtoH J I'. Nutting. 17 

justified the reconl shows. Ilis jiuUcial career «as an admirable prepara- 
tion for Congressional life. It made him oliviously l)roader, more impar- 
tial, more judicial. 

So nmch. my dear Mr. Baker. I can sav on the spur of the moment. It 
is a very imperfect expression of what .Judge NUTTIXO seemed to me to 
be. It is an honest expression, though, and one that ought to help make 
his example teO upon those who survive him. 

Yours verv cordially, Henry H. Stebbins. 

Mr. Speaker, the works and life of siich a man with such 
a record will endure and influence for good all along through 
time. The brief time devoted by this House in paying trib- 
ute to the memory of siich a man can not fail of making us, 
his surviving colleagues„ better and stronger. 



ADDRESS OF Mr, BLANCHARD, OF LOUISIANA. 

Mr. Speaker: It is only of Judge Nutting as a colaborer 
in the work of this House that I can speak. I had not 
known him prior to his election as a member of the Forty- 
eighth Congress, and during his term of servic-e here it had 
not been my good fortune to be thrown much with him in 
a social way; but in the line of our duty as members of this 
House I had occasion to know him well. On the organiza- 
tion of the Fiftieth Congress we were both assigned posi- 
tions on the River and Harbor Committee; and as the work 
of that committee is long and laborious, e.xtending through 
many months of the session and calling for daily and twice- 
daily meetings during that time, I had ample opportunity 
to acquire a knowledge of the man and to learn his intrinsic 
worth and value. He was assiduous in attention to tlie du' 
ties committed to liim — none more so. 

He was careful, iminstaking. patient, thoughtful, and 
effective in his work. He was most considerate and just in 
H. Mis. 2G4 2 



J 8 Address of Mr. B/anchard, of Louisiana, on the 

his judgment of men and things. He impressed me as a 
man who made conscience his guide and had the fear of God 
always before his eyes. A man of modest demeanor and 
quiet manner, he was firm and inflexible in contending for 
what he deemed right and in asserting the claims of his con- 
stituency and State. No district in the Union ha(l,a more 
faithful, earnest, zealous, conscientious Representative in 
Congress than his. He was always a safe man, such a man 
as should be kept in Congress by a constituency as long as 
possible to retain his services. He was a man of fine capac- 
ity, a good lawyer, a clear and forcible speaker, and taking 
him all in all he came, in my opinion, as near being the 
ideal Representative as any man I have met in an exjaeri- 
ence of some years in this House. 

His great labors as a member of the River and Harbor 
Committee were productive of great good to the navigation 
interests of the Great Lakes. He thoroughly understood 
the needs of commerce for improved channels and safe and 
commodious harbors along those great water-ways of our 
country, and in his work here largely devoted himself to the 
task of securing adequate appropriations for the lake ports 
and for the channels between the lakes. Their improved 
condition to-day attests the value of his services. 

But his sphere of usefulness was by no means confined to 
attention to the wants of his own people and section. His 
grasp of the Congressional situation took in tlie wliole 
country. He was a broad-gauged man, patriotic, liberal, 
and tolerant. He did not consider himself merely the rep- 
resentative of a district or State. He was a representative 
of tlie whole people and country. Sectionalism was a word 
omitted from his vocabulary. He considered with the same 
spii'it of intelligent liberality the claims of Texas on the 
south and Oregon on the west for the improvement of their 



tl 



Life and Character of Newton IV. Nutting. 19 

water ways as he did those of the harbors along Lake Erie 
or Lake Ontario in his immediate country. 

It was during liis service on the River and Harbor Com- 
mittee in the Fiftieth Congress that the distressing malady 
which fastened upon him began to develop and assume a 
nuxlignant form. He bore the infliction with fortitude and 
Ijatience. I heard no word of complaint or distress escape 
him. He seemed self-reliant and courageous, and in the 
early stages of the disease hopeful. When it assumed its 
dreaded phase and the beginning of the end appeared, an 
humble follower of the meek and lowly Nazarene. I doubt 
not he became resigned to the decree of an all-wise and all- 
merciful God and found consolation in the example and pre- 
cepts of the Master. I would naturally look for this in a 
man for whose character I had formed the estimate evidenced 
by these observations. 

Mr. Speaker, when Newton W. Nutting died the spirit 
of a good man and just wiuged its flight to God. The world 
was the richer and the better for his having lived in it. To 
his loved ones and his friends Heaven will be dearer because 
he is there. Peace to his ashes. 



ADDRESS OF MR, GROSVENOR, OF OHIO, 

Mr. Speaker: The ceremony of eulogy on occasions like 
this becomes almost an idle ceremony so far as the House 
of Representatives itself is concerned. I wish it might be 
otherwise. I wish it might be so that on occasions where a 
member has departed this life and the House has met as a 
tribute of respect to his memory there might Ije as marked a 
degree of interest taken in the ceremonies attending thereon 



20 Address of Mr. Grosvotor, of Ohio, on the 

as is taken iu the action and vote of the member wliile liv- 
ing and among us. 

This member is dead, and no eulogy that can be pro- 
nounced here will reach his deadened sense of hearing, nor 
can it benefit him in any degree whatever. The only 
apology, therefore, for the ceremony in which we are now 
engaged is the manifest propriety that we should put on 
record our opinion of the character of the men who have 
served the country in official positions of this kind. 

Mr. Speaker, what I shall very briefly say on this occasion 
shall be confined to my personal knowledge and appreciation 
of Judge Nutting, which grew out of my association with 
him in the House of Representatives. He came, a stranger 
to me, at the organization of the Fiftieth Congress, although 
he had had Congressional experience at an earlier Congress 
than that. He was assigned to duty on the Committee on 
Rivers and Harbors, to which I had the honor to belong, 
and it was there and iu the discharge of his duties within 
that room, and upon the floor of the House in connection 
with his work in that regard, that I made his acquaintance, 
and from that acquaintance and observation formed the 
estimate I did of his character. I knew nothing about him 
before that time, and in his intercour.se with the members 
of the House, so far as I know, he indulged in but little con- 
versation in regard to his former career and history. That 
he was a good lawyer, a man of clear, incisive intelligence, 
was apparent to everybody who came in contact with him. 

The strong points of his service were fidelity to what he 
believed to be the right thing and industry to ascertain what 
was right. No amount of i:)ersuasion that had for its basis 
the mere wish of another swerved him from the results of 
his own judgment. He was a patient, careful, and efficient 
student of the questions affecting the discharge of his oner- 



Life and Character of Nczvton IV. Nutting. 21 

ous duties. He attended the meetings of the committee 
with the greatest possible regularity and carefully consid- 
ered and estimated all the evidence that went to establish 
the matters of fact in the smallest as well as the largest 
measures that came liefore the committee. 

I fully indorse, and I am glad, Mr. Speaker, in these days 
to do so, the statement made by my honored colleague on 
that committee from Louisiana [Mr. Blanchard], that in the 
exercise of his judgment and in determining the questions 
that came before him he was wholly free, absolutely free, 
from prejudice of any character. 

The committee itself— its work, its jurisdiction — naturally 
tends to the development of non-partisan administration 
and non-sectional judgments ; and in that regard the Avork 
of the committee met his full and constant approbation. 
The claims of a bayou of Louisiana were considered by him 
with as much zeal and careful research and with just as 
friendly an eye and judgment as the harbors of Maine or 
the inlets along the coast of his own State. 

He had nothing, so far as ever I could see. that was akin 
to prejudice. His mind was constructed upon a liberal and 
broad basis. His intelligence developed the scope and cos- 
mopolitan character of his judgment.' He was a progress- 
ive man. He was not anchored to the past ; he was alive 
to the present and ambitii)us of the future. 

Modest and unassuming as he was, he was an ambitious 
man, with ambitious thoughts and hopes, and yet he never 
obtruded them in such a way as to make them offensive ; for 
he was the exponent of the true quality of that ambition 
which makes a man .struggle to be worthy of the confi- 
dence of his fellow-men. 

Opposition to his views never irritated him. He had con- 
sideration for the opinions and feelings of others. He passed 



22 Address of Mr. Grosvenor.^ of 0>iu\ on tlic 

a considerate judgment upon the opinions of men who 
antagt)nized him, even on questions upon which he thought 
he knew more than his antagonist ; and that is the highest 
criterion of personal consideration for tlie judgment of 
others. 

He belonged to a political party — the Repiiblican party — 
and he loved it and believed in its jirinciijles ; but he carried 
in that attachment and in the devotion he gave to the 
principles and the organization of liis party no bitterness, 
no failure of consideration or appreciation for the judgment 
and opinion of the men of other parties. I never heard him 
make a severe or an unkind criticism of any man's political 
opposition in all my knowledge of him. 

I reached the conclusion, Mr. Speaker, earlier than he did, 
that he was a victim, and that Death had marked him as his 
own ; but at last it came to my knowledge that he had 
reached the same opinion, and then the strong characteristics 
of the man made themselves aijjjarent to those about him. 
He did not complain ; he did not annoy the people about 
him by the consideration of his own sufferings, but it was 
apparent that he was looking forward all the time to the 
certainty that his career was almost at an end. 

I know not, Mr. Speaker, what it was that stood by him ; 
I know not what the spirit was that buoyed him up. I 
have none of it. I have none of the experiences that run 
parallel to it. But I know there was a power of some kind 
more than mortal, more than human, that stood by him and 
gave the outlook a roseate, hallowed, blessed tint, that to 
me was a matter of exceeding surprise. 

He is gone. The world, as has been said, is better for his 
having lived. His example made an im^aression on those 
who knew him only temporarily ; and I can imagine that 
upon those of his immediate friends and acquaintances with 



I 



Liff and C haradcr of Nczvton IF. A'litlii/o. 23 

■whom he associated in i)i"ivate life his iniluence must have 
been powerful for good. The noble example he set is to go 
forward in widening and ever-broadeuing streams of influ- 
ence in the future. 

I gratefully drop a tear of affection upon the bier of our 
departed brother and feel confident that no truer man or 
better man has fallen in the service of tlie Government 
within mv recollecticjii. 



ADDRESS OF MR. SHERMAN, OF NEV/ YORK. 

Mr. Speaker : A glance at the world's history, a contem- 
plation and comparison of the events and the time within 
which they have occurred since the world was, impresses ns 
with the comparatively small part played by each individ- 
ual whose life extends to old age. The flight of a few dec- 
ades, the participation in passing events, are jotted down 
and tlie history of a life is made and written: whether to 
quickly fade from the memory of the living or to long en- 
dure depends upon ourselves. Upon the mind, the heart, 
the soul of every being depends the impress left upon the 
future. We are not only the architects of our own fortunes, 
but the builders of our own monuments. 

Judge Nutting's memory will long endure. The monu- 
ment he built for himself will be lasting. His life, cut off 
though it was in its prime, its concluding chapter unwrit- 
ten, yet filled a page larger and nu)re imjjortant tlian that 
of the great mass of those who complete the allotment of 
three-score years and ten. Less than forty-nine years was 
given him in which to do his life-work. He did it all ; ho 
did it well. Two decades he devoted to service of the pub- 
lic. To complete this work within his shui't life his active 



2-i Address of Mr. Sherman^ of New York^ on the 

public career must liave begun at the threshold of manhood, 
and so it did. At twenty-three he was chosen a school com- 
missioner; at twenty-eight, the public prosecutor of his 
county; at thirty-seven, the judge of its highest court; at 
forty-two, a Representative in Congress. Always his every 
duty Avas manfully met and fully and faithfully iserformed. 
That he so lived as to impress his individuality upon his fel- 
lows, tliat he met the emei'gency of every changing scene 
in life, that he discharged every duty involved in the accept- 
ance of many and varied trusts in such manner that he re- 
ceived the encomiums of all men, is his priceless eulogy. 
He was a man among men. He possessed a well balanced 
union of admirable qualities. His habits were industrious, 
studious, thoughtful; his will was indomitable, his tempera- 
ment equable, his discernment accurate, his judgment just. 
So grouped were these characteristics that his successful 
career was a certain sequence. His public life was brilliant; 
his private life was beautiful. I will not lift the veil of 
grief which covers the liome made desolate by his death, 
even to show its most beautiful side. It is best known to 
those to whom it Is most sacred. To his friends, his neigh- 
bors, his colleagues here, in the school-room, at the bar, 
on the bench, everywhere and always, were shown the con- 
sideration, the courtesy, the unreserved dignity of grace and 
bearing that come from the kindly heart of a polished gen- 
tleman. He had the characteristic of men of large soul 
and tender heart, a love of nature. He loved it as a pas- 
time and a teacher. Its study helped his feet along the 
Christian path he always trod. 

But the "'silent messenger" makes no distinction in his 
choice. The brave, the talented, the good, ai'e called to 
follow him. His message came to Judge Nutting. With 
heroic fortitude he struggled against the malady that baffled 



Lijc and Cliaractcr of Nczvton Jl'. Niit/inq;. 25 

human skill, to save the life so dear to others and to him 
becairse of them. But the end could not be averted. As 
the thread of life was slipping awaj' m\ that October after- 
noon, he, seeming to cling to God's light, motioned for the 
blind to be thrown back that he might see it once more. 
The rays of the setting sun touched his face: lower and lower 
they sank; the light of the last ray vanished. The body of 
Judge Nutting alone remained. His soul had followed the 
light to its home above the sun. 

Beautiful twilight at set of sun, 
Beautiful Moal with race well run. 
Beautiful rest witli work all clone. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Peters, of Kansas. 

Mr. Speaker : The home of Judge Nutting and my own 
were 2,000 miles apart : and yet in this age of civilization dis- 
tance is almost eliminated. From my home in Kansas I first 
learned of his election to tlie Forty -eighth Congress, his elec- 
tion to an institution of learning which differs in .some re- 
spects from many of oi;r colleges in the country, but akin to 
those institutions in many other features. In this House we 
have a post-graduate class, a senior class, a ji;nior class, a 
sophomore class, and a freshman class ; and we h ave also mem- 
bers of a jn-eparatory course. Unlike other institutions of 
learning, the member who comes here for the first time must 
enter the preparatory class. However strong he may be in- 
tellectually, however large and extensive his knowledge of 
public affairs may be, there is a peculiar class of knowledge 
in connection with legislative routine that can only be 
acquired here under the tutelage of the teacher known as 
"experience." 



26 Address of J\fr. Peters^ of Kansas^ on the 

Newton W. Nuttino matriculated in this institution on 
the first Monday of December. 1883. He and I were class- 
mates here, and in the lottery of seats we drew positions 
near each other. I now speak from the seat which he occu- 
pied in the Forty-eighth Congress. The reaper Death has 
been busy with the New York delegation since I first came 
to Congress. In looking over the list I find that seven of 
its members have passed beyond the river in the last four 
years. The first of them was Lewis Beach ; the second, 
Abram Dowdney ; the third, John Arnot ; the fourth, Peter 
P. Mahoney; the fifth, Samuel S. Cox ; the sixth, Newton 
W. Nutting, and the seventh David Wilber. One of these 
at least, one whom we so well remember — I refer to Samuel 
S. Cox — might certainly be graded as a post-graduate from 
this institution of learning. 

Mr. Nutting came here realizing that his first year must 
be with the preparatory students, learning the routine of 
legislation; and well and faithfully did he pursue his studies. 
He was a man with whom I became acquainted early in tlie 
session, and he impressed- me almust from the beginning of 
that acquaintance as being a man of admiraltle qualities. 
He was conscientious in the discharge of public duty, and 
that is a high commendation of any public servant; always 
present at his post, either in committee or in the House; 
always studious to l&arn. so that he might the better dis- 
charge whatever diity might devolve upon him. Not only 
this, but he was a man who was faithful to his convictions, 
and he had strong ones. Men of his character and mental 
training always have sti'ong ones; and yet, notwithstanding 
the firmness of conviction, he was ever courteous in assert- 
ing it and ever ready for additional information that might 
change it. 

He was also an earnest legislator in tlie investigation of 



Life and Character of N'czcfoii IV. Nuiliii^. 27 

any subject in which the country or his constituents might 
be interested, giving such time to study as was possible, that 
he might the better prepare himself to meet the demands of 
the morrow. These (jualifications impressed me early in his 
Congressional career, and naturally led me as his associate 
to consult with him in regard to matters of legislation. I 
always found him clear in expression, always earnest in his 
beliefs, always anxious to derive information. 

During the Forty-ninth Congress he was not a member of 
this House; but when he returned to the Fiftieth Congress 
I again availed myself in many instances of his counsel, of 
his information, and of his kindly disposition to converse, 
■with the idea that conversations upon subjects brought in- 
formation. After the close of the Fiftieth Congress I did 
not see him until well along in the summer. I met him one 
bright sunshiny day, a characteristic Washington May day. 
I asked him how he was battling with his disease. He said, 
" I am struggling as best I can, but have only one chance in 
a thousand." We had some further conversation, and in that 
further conversation his magnificent courage to meet the 
future, let it be what it might, brought to my mind the idea 
that he was standing in a position where he could say, in 
those magnificent words of Whittier: 

And so beside the silent sea 

I wait the muffled oar. 
No liarni from Him can come to me 

On ocean or on .sliore. 
I know not where His islands lift 

Their fronded pahns in air; 
I only know I can not di'ift 

Beyond His love and care. 

This was my last meeting witli him. I believe now that 
our friend knows where those islands are. I believe that 
from the structure of hiii life, from the character of his be- 



28 Address of Mr. Henderson, of Illinois, on the 

lief, from the faith that seemed to be implanted in him, not 
only intellectually, hut religiously, he is in an island free 
from suffering and disai^poiutment; that he has tasted the 
fruit of the hope to which his faith clung with the greatest 
tenacity. As one of his colleagues in this House, as one 
of his friends and associates, I desii'e to say that he was one 
of the men association with whom has made me stronger, has 
made me better, and has enabled me to discharge my duty 
more effectually. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Henderson, of Illinois. 

Mr. Speaker : The intimate and friendly relations exi.st- 
ing between the late Judge Nutting and myself were such 
duriuar his entire service as a member of this body that I can 
not well refrain from adding on this occasion some tribute 
to his memory. 

My acquaintance witli him began soon after he took his 
seat in the Forty-eighth Congress. As a memlier of the 
Committee on Rivers and Harbors, which had for its con- 
sideration matters of improvement of great interest to his 
constituents, I was early brought in contact with him and 
had ample opportunity to study his character and to know 
something of his devotion to his public duties, and I can 
bear testimony to*the intelligent, able, and faithful manner 
in which he represented the interests of the people of his 
district and State even in the first term of his service here. 

For some reason Judge Nutting was not returned to the 
Forty-ninth Congress, but was again elected to the Fiftieth 
Congress, in which he, "with myself and others, was ap- 
pointed a member of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, 
one among the most laborious, responsible committees of the 



Life and Character of Nczi'iou //'. Nutting. 29 

House. And it was in our service as members of that com- 
mittee that I learned to appreciate the high character of 
Judge Nutting for ability, energj% and industry, and for 
Ms fidelity to duty. 

For many months we were almost daily associated together 
in the work of the committee, and I believe it would be the 
universal testimony of every member of the committee who 
served with him that he was one of the most attentive, care- 
ful, industrious, painstaking members of the committee, and 
that he broixght to the discharge of his duties a high degree 
of intelligence and an unswerving integrity. 

While lie was a quiet, modest man, and assumed no supe- 
riority of ability or merit over his associates, he was never- 
theless an intelligent and capable man, and always desired 
to be well assured as to the rightfulness of his own action. 
He therefore investigated qiiestions conscientiously and 
carefiilly before forming an opinion: but when formed, he 
was firm and courageous in maintaining and defending it. 

In his intercourse with his fellow-members lie was court- 
eous and gentlemanly and commanded their respect no less 
by his affability than by his close attention to his public 
duties. 

He was a true patriot. He loved his country devotedly 
and rejoiced in its prosperity and greatness. His love of 
country was in no manner narrow or sectional. While 
proud of his own great State he believed in our nationality 
and was broad-minded and generous in his views and dis- 
posed, so far as it could be properly done by national legis- 
lation, to promote the prosperity of the entire cduiitry. 

But the labor of his life, hon(iral)le and useful as it was, 
is ended. To us who served witli liim in this Hall, and espe- 
cially to those who served with him in tlic cnmmittee-room 
and knew him so well, his death was full of .sa-dness. 



30 Address of Mr. CaUhings, of Mississippi, on the 

When I first heard, Mr. Speaker, tliat Judge Nutting 
was afflicted with the fatal malady which cut him down in 
the vigor of his manhood and his usefulness, I was deeply 
distressed. And it was a continuing sorrow to all of us as 
we watched his patient suffering from that terrible disease, 
which he no doubt realized would soon terminate his life. 
I never saw more patient endiirance nor a calmer resigna- 
tion to meet the end when it came than he exhibited up to 
the hour when I last met him. 

He has truly left behind him the example of a noble life 
and is worthy of the honor we this day pay to his memory. 



ADDRESS OF MR. T C. CATCHINGS, OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Mr. Speaker: A warm friendship existed between Judge 
Nutting and myself almost from the beginning of our 
acquaintance. 

The first time I ever saw him was the day the Committee 
on Rivers and Harbors of the Fiftieth Congress, of which 
we were members, assembled for organization. I was im- 
mediately attracted by his uncommonly handsome face and 
figure, and his quiet and modest though manly demeanor; 
and seeking an introduction to him after the committee had 
adjourned, a long and to me most interesting conversation 
ensued. The acquaintance thus began soon ripened into a 
warm attachment, and many times after the labors of the 
committee for the day were finished did we linger in the 
rooms and exchange our thoughts and opinions and expe- 
riences. 

He was a man of deeji convictions, large information, and 
charitable judgment. Though our early environments had 
placed us wide apart as to many things, I found him singu- 



I 



Life and Character of Neit'ton IV. Xiitting. 31 

larly free from intolerance, a good listener as well as a good 
talker, patient in argument, and always courteous and kindly. 

He was a very patriotic man, an ardent believer in Amer- 
ican institutions, hopeful always of tlie nation's future 
(though not blind to the perplexing problems confronting 
us), and firm in the Tielief that a great people, though at 
times swayed by passion, will always in the end triumph 
over difficulty and danger. 

His own early struggles and his own successes, no doubt, 
had laid the foundation in his mind and heart for 'his absolute 
faitli in the destiny of his country. I found that he had been 
a careful student of history, and had given great thought to 
all matters pertaining to the art and .science of government. 
He discoursed upon this theme with great wisdom and elo- 
quence, and Avould not admit a doubt as to the advantages 
of popular sovereignty. He believed that the people were 
the safest repository of power, ami liis admiration for tlie 
sagacity and wisdom with which the Revolutionary fathers 
had laid the foundation for our institutions was limitless. 
He rejoiceil that the country was once more united, and was 
fi)i)d of drawing pictures of wliat it would be one hundred, 
two hundred, or three hundred years hence. 

Both belonging to the legal profession, we naturally fell 
occasionally into the discussion of subjects relating to it. I 
found tliat he was not merely a thoroughly infoi'nu-d and 
equipped practitioner, but a jurist who had studied law as a 
great science, bearing upon all the relations of life, whetlier 
publii; or private, witliout which there could be no safety, 
nil order, no govfrnnicnt. He often spoke of tlie gra,ve and 
solemn dnties a lawyer owed both to his clifiit and his 
State, and deplored the facility witli wliicli persons not 
fitted l)y learning or character were admitted to the pro- 
fession, wliereby its power for usefulness ])ecame so sadly 



32 Address of Mr. Catchings, of Mississippi, on llir 

diminished. I am sure tliat in tlie jiractice of his inofession 
he readied the high standard he would have set up for all. 

In his committee work he was always serious and earnest. 
While believing that it was the duty of the Government to 
provide its citizens with every possible facility for their com- 
mercial pursuits, he was careful always to see that under the 
guise of public improvements no fraud was coinitenanced 
or imposition upon the Government permitted. He was fair 
and just in all of his work, and commanded the unqualified 
respect and confidence of his colleagues upon his committee. 

He shirked no labor, even after the hand of death had 
touched him and his end was almost in sight. During the 
second session of the Fiftieth Congress, when it was known 
to all (and to none better than himself) that he was fatally 
stricken, he was as devoted and attentive to his committee 
work as ever. The OJily difference to be noted was that he 
was more quiet and serious, and that now and then for a 
moment he would seem to forget his work and to be looking 
afar off at something that no eyes but his own could see. 
But not a complaint fell from his lips. He ti'od the path of 
duty to the end, without a thought of turning aside. During 
this period, however, the conversations with him which I had 
so frequently sought and had so enjoyed al,together ceased. 

When not engaged in his Congressional work his mind 
and thoughts were given over doubtless to the contemplation 
of his past life and preparation for that strange one which 
he was so soon to know. And so the days went by. His 
steps became heavier, the ruddy hue of health left his cheek, 
his manner became more and more serious, but to the last he 
bore himself as a dignified, courteous, and considerate gen- 
tleman. I never saw him after the adjournment of the Fif- 
tieth Congress, but my sympathies and affections were with 
my stricken friend. 



Life and Character of Neu'to)i 11'. A'u/ting. 3H 

The storj' ol' his sickness and his suffering and his death 
wouhl he the saddest that I have ever known were it not 
ilhiniined by heroism, patient fortitude, and a Christian 
resignation which emblazoned the end of his noble and 
well-spent life with a halo of holiness and glory. 

To me it will always be a pleasure to think of this dear 
departed friend. I wish that I could somewhat at least re- 
pay to his sorrowing family something of his unvarying 
kindness to me. But nothing is left save to give assurance 
of my affection for him and my profound sympathy for them. 

The death of such a man as Judge Nutting is a great loss 
to the country he loved and had ser\ed so well. He was in 
the very strength of manhood, mentally and ^jhysically, when 
the shadow fell upon him. • His ripe experience, his learning 
in all those things needed in the performance of high public 
duty, and above all. his earnest and conscientious purpose, 
gave assurance that higher honors and loftier fame were 
within his grasp. 

But while his onward and useful career was thusal)ru]itiy 
ended it should be a consf)lation to his friends to know tliat 
his useful aiid blameless life went out with honors and suc- 
cess crowding thick upon him. 

He died in tlie enjoyment of fame, of the esteem of his 
friends, and in the hope of reward in that kingilom not made 
by the hands of men. It was a fitting end of a noble life. 

The resolutions offered by 3Ir. Payne were unanimously 
adopted : and the House then (at 4 o'clock and 13 minutes 
p. m.) adjoiirned. 

H. Mis 2G4 ;J 



I 



PROCI'EDINGS IN THE SENATE. 



June 19, 1890. 

The Vice-President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
resolutions from the House of Representatives; which will 
be read. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows: 

In the House of REPRESENTATrvES. Ajii-il 5. 1890. 

Resolved. That the business of the House be now suspended that op- 
portunity may be given for ti'ibiites to the memory of Hon. Newton W. 
NuTTiNo, late a Representative from the State of New York. 

Resolved. As a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceiised, 
and in recognition of liis eminent abilities as a distinguislied public 
servant, that the House, at the conclusion of these memorial proceedings, 
shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved. That tlie Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 



Address of Mr. Hiscock, of New York. 

Mr. Presiden't: Newtox W. Nutting was most emphat- 
ically a self-made man. He was bora and resided until his 
death in the county and Congressional district of New Yoi'k 
which he represented in Congress at the time of his death. 
The district is overwhelmingly Republican and comprises a 
part of the fairest portion of the State of New York. I 
believe that no part of the State is richer in agricultural 
resources; it ranks high in manufactures; the merchants 

and bankers in the leading towns and cities are men of 

85 



36 Address of Mr. Hiscock, of New Vor/:, on tlic 

marked ability and liigh eliaracter. Mr. Nutting was a 
lawyer by profession, and until liis election to Congress de- 
voted himself assiduously to the practice of that profession, 
and I may add that the bar of the district was a very able 
one. In his Congressional district an election to the House 
of Representatives was regarded as a distinguished mark of 
favor and appreciation by the constituency. Their varied 
indi;stries, their dependency to some extent upon Federal 
aid, prompted close scrutiny into the character and capacity 
of the candidate of the Republican party. I say the candi- 
date of the Republican party because the district was so 
overwhelmingly Rei)ublican that whatever contest there was 
was within the ranks of that party, and it is just, therefore, 
to say of Mr. Nutting that he competed for the honor with 
the best and purest of the State of New York: but his polit- 
ical triumphs were never won by unworthy means or doubt- 
ful methods. There, sir. the tricks of machine i^olitics and 
packed cauciises were unknown and success depended en- 
tirely upon the judgment of the people, and withoiit undue 
or unseemly effort on his part 'Wx. Nutting easily com- 
manded the honors conferred ujion him. 

I knew him well: we were warm personal friends. He 
died after a protracted struggle with a painful and from the 
outset a recognized deadly disease. He was a devoted hus- 
band and father, and I well remember when in this Chamber, 
with suppressed emotion and without regret for himself, he 
told me of his approaching death; that he was hopelessly 
afflicted and within a few months at furthest must die. It 
is sad. sir, to hear a strong man speak of his sure, near, and 
certain death, seemingly without emotion, until the thought 
of wife and children like a great wave rushes over him, 
when, with the same immobility of countenance, the tears 
stream from either eye. 



Life and Character of Xi-ivloii //'. \ii///iio. 37 

Mr. President. Mr. Nutting was stricken down in the 
full strength of manhood, in the possession of all his physical 
and intellectual powers. He was possessed of far more than 
ordinary ability, was industrious, and had a rare power of 
application. His fi-iends might well have expected for him 
higher honors than he had achieved. As I have said, we 
were personal friends, and "friends" hardly expresses our 
relation. With a most absolute contidence in his integrity 
and judgment I would almost unquestionably have re- 
sponded to his call for support of any legislative measure 
here that he approved. 

When a valued friend dies, for a period, at least, one feels 
that his place can not be supplied. It is true, however, that 
vacant places in our social and political life are quickly 
filled. I believe, sir, that it is better so, as otherwise we 
would always wear the badges of mourning, and it is far 
better for society and each individual that griefs should be 
put behind us wliile we devote ourselves to the labors of 
life; but, sir. it will be a long time before Newton W. 
Nutting will be forgotten by me and the other friends who 
loved and admired liim. 

Mr. Preisident, I offer the resolutions which I send to the 
desk. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved. That the Senate shares with the House of Representatives in 
its exi)ressions of sorrow at the deatli of Hon. Newton W. Nutting, late 
a Representative from the State of New York. 

Resolved. That as a mark of sympathy toward tlie family of the de- 
ceased tlie Secretary will transmit to them a copy of these proceedings. 



38 Address of Mr. Evarts, oj Ncn' York, on the 



Address of Mr, Evarts, of New York. 

Mr. President: The State of New York within the twelve- 
month lias been called upon three times to lament the death 
of distinguished citizens who held seats in the House of Eep- 
resentatives. A numerous delegation such as the State is 
entitled to exposes us, no doubt, to a greater frequencj^ by 
this invasion of death than other States in their representa- 
tions; but it has been an unusual occurrence that within this 
brief period three excellent and worthy Representatives, 
standing so high in the opinion of their colleagues, whether 
in that House or in this, and with the imblie at large, should 
have passed away. 

My colleague [Mr. Hiscock] has related the circumstances 
of Mr. Nutting's life, both private and public, and I might 
well leave that portion of the considerations that attend an 
occasion of this kind to what he has said; but the life of 
Mr. Nutting as narrated is a very striking and interesting 
one. It is interesting in the circumstances which I shall 
advert to, and remarkable while it is not imcommon in the 
exiDerience of our wide citizenshij") of this land. 

Mr. Nutting was born near the place of hie residence 
and his home at the time of his death, and never, I believe, 
moved outside of that Congressional district. He was born 
the son of a jjoor clergyman, who was unable to give the 
advantages of collegiate education to his son, who, from the 
earliest time, attracted the attention of all who saw him as 
giving promise for distinction in life. 

But, Mr. President, while it is very common to speak of 
sons born in the circumstances that I have adverted to as 
not enjoying the advantages for a career that are open to 



Life and Character of Nncton If. JVit///iig. 39 

the sons of those wlio live in affluence and ease, the obser- 
vation of American life justifies no such opinion. 

What better circumstance can there be for a career under 
institutions like ours than that a son should be born to a 
clergyman, himself educated, and the husband of a wife at- 
tracted by considerations personal and elevated in character 
and in cond'uct — what better chance in life and under our 
institutions is there for a boy thus born and thus to be nur- 
tured? Enjoying an academic education and with the father 
and mother attending his early efforts to overcome the disad- 
vantage of not enjoying a college education (which I by no 
means depi'eciate). this boy went on and on in the eyes of 
his neighbors, in the eyes of his county, in the eyes of his 
district, and everybody knew that what he gained in public 
opinion and in his personal powers was what belonged to 
his nature and his right of birth, and his whole progress 
showed that he was strong enough to make his pathway for 
himself; and thus, without any step backward and without 
unseemly ostentation, he grew in the eyes of those about 
him till it became a natural interest of tlieir own that his 
promotion should be accorded, and thus step by step he went 
forward in the profession, in a judicial employment, in con- 
fidence, in all the great relations of society, till he became a 
Representative from a great State with great interests in 
the House of Representatives. 

Mr. President, it has been wisely stated, no doubt, that 
no one should be called fortunate until he be dead, and we 
might find much to notice in the darker shades of this de- 
parted life wliich might make us say that our deceased friend 
covild not be pronounced fortunate when he was dead. 
' ' It is appointed unto all men once to die ;" but it is not ap- 
pointed to all men to stand for many months in view of the 
open grave that is l)eing prepared for him. It is not ap- 



40 Address of Mr. Evarfs^ ofNezo } 'or/c. 

pointed to every man to die when lie has reached the high 
jjlane of personal, of moral, and of political influence and 
authority and then have all these accepted and enjoyed facul- 
ties and duties suddenly taken from him. And that was what 
befell our friend in his fiftieth year, when he had reached by 
climbing a plane from which no further climbing was nec- 
essary, for all the rest would follow from his accumulated 
power and credit. 

And yet, Mr. President, when you look at the more serioiis 
relations of life, how it is but a span, whether it be of fifty 
years or of eighty years, and when you see that this life had 
been without a flaw and without a moral defect ; when you 
see that there gathered around him ever an increasing num- 
ber of adherents, admirers, and friends, and when you see, 
as is disclosed in what is stated by his colleagues in the House 
of Representatives, that his early faith had attended him 
from his boyhood to this open grave, we can say that this, 
too, is a fortunate life and a fortunate end. 

Mr. President, no man but must be affected by the con- 
duct of our friend during these declining months, which 
have so touchingly been adverted to. He was submissive ; 
he was resigned; but, more than that, he was serene, and 
he left a memory and a faith to his household that will be 
to them a blessing and to them a sentence that their father's 
and their litisband's life and the son's life was fortunate. 

The Vice-President. The question is on the adoption of 
the resolutions offered by the Senator from New York [Mr. 
Hiscock]. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously. 



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